HOMILY at the MASSES for the EPIPHANY of the LORD (B) 2018 Today we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord – Christ’s manifestation to the world as it is described in our Prayer Book. And over the coming weeks up to the Feast of Christ’s Presentation in the Temple, or Candlemas, we shall consider together a number of significant moments of that…

HOMILY at the 9h and 10h30 MASSES for the FEAST of CHRIST the KING (A) 2017 How is a star born? I don’t mean the kind that we might see on cinema or television screens! I mean the kind, some of which if we manage to penetrate the light pollution that is ruining our nights, we might actually be able to see…

HOMILY at the 10h30 MASS for the SECOND SUNDAY before ADVENT (A) 2017 Today’s Gospel reading is a familiar parable – that of the Talents. It is a parable capable of many different interpretations – and we should probably beware of the simplest ones! In S. Matthew’s Gospel, this is the sixth – and last true parable in a series of seven…

HOMILY at the 9h and 10h30 MASSES for the NINETEENTH SUNDAY after TRINITY (A) 2017 The Gospel reading we have just heard is probably one that has been badly interpreted in a whole number of ways over the centuries. When politicians, for example, find themselves challenged by some vigorous Church leader, they are inclined to retaliate by using the words render unto…

HOMILY at the 9h and 10h30 MASSES for the TENTH SUNDAY after TRINITY (A) 2017 Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman had a well-known religious pilgrimage which, amongst other things, led him from affirming the Anglican Church to be part of the Catholic Church to ultimately denying that position and joining the Roman Church. Perhaps because of that, I notice with a certain…

HOMILY at the 9h and 10h30 MASSES for the SEVENTH SUNDAY after TRINITY (A) 2017 The way things work out this year for the next three Sundays is that we shall spend quite a lot of time thinking about Glory. Next Sunday is the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, and the Sunday following that is the one that we keep…

HOMILY at the 9h and 10h30 MASSES for the SIXTH SUNDAY after TRINITY (A) 2017 During the week just past, my thoughts for various reasons have turned to the area of computing. I guess that – like most of us – I use a computer almost every day of my life now, without giving too much thought as to how the thing…

HOMILY at CHORAL EVENSONG for the SECOND SUNDAY after TRINITY (A) 2017 The music we have just heard was written by someone who was once described as one of music’s great survivors. And it is certainly true that Thomas Tomkins lived a remarkably long life for someone of his generation – he was 83 when he died, just a few miles…

HOMILY at the 9h and 10h30 MASSES for the FIRST SUNDAY after TRINITY (A) 201 There is a book which is causing something of a storm in the United States at present. It’s called the Benedict Option and in it the author, Rod Dreher, paints an apocalyptic picture of life in the States. He suggests that things there are now so inimical…

HOMILY at the 19h SUNG MASS for the FEAST of the MOST HOLY TRINITY (A) 2017 Today is something of a strange Feast in the life of the Church – a kind of ‘God Sunday’. Years ago, when I first ordained, if you were allotted the task of preaching on this Sunday it was regarded as the short straw. The great Roman…